The recent torrential rains have left nearly 30,000 hectares of farmland damaged, the agriculture ministry said Tuesday, noting an anticipated drop in the output of certain crops may push their prices up for the time being.
A total of 29,448 hectares of farmland were estimated to have been flooded by the weeklong heavy rains as of Monday, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
The affected area is equivalent to nearly 40,000 football fields, it added.
South Chungcheong Province was hit the hardest, reporting 16,710 hectares of farmland that had been submerged, the largest for a single province. As for livestock, around 1.8 million animals, including chickens, ducks and pigs, have been killed due to the heavy rain.
The agriculture ministry expected potential supply disruptions and price increases for certain agricultural products due to the rain and vowed to take steps to minimize any instability in the supply and demand of key produce items.
Torrential rains, combined with the impact of recent heat waves, are already pushing prices of agricultural products up.
As of Monday, the average retail price of a watermelon surged over 26 percent from a year earlier to over 30,000 won (US$21.6).
The average price of cabbage, a key ingredient of kimchi, has jumped more than 40 percent from a month ago to 5,240 won.